CHRONICLEWATCH / Working for a better Bay Area

Published 4:00 am, Monday, October 2, 2006

What's in the works

Inaccessible sidewalk: Walking along the south side of Alemany Boulevard between Farragut and Naglee avenues is unsavory if not impossible, says tipster Humberto Valle. "The sidewalk is completely covered with shrubbery and overgrown vegetation, making it impossible for anyone to walk," he says. When ChronicleWatch visited the site this week, walking on that stretch of the street was more jungle safari than city stroll. Vines and bushes stretched from the hillside to the street and water flowed from the hillside, pooling into algae puddles covered with soggy trash on the sidewalk. A shopping cart blocked street parking while shrubbery obscured a parking sign. Status: We contacted San Francisco Department of Public Works spokeswoman Christine Falvey, who says city crews were aware of the overgrown vegetation -- which they cut back two to three times each year. Crews will be sent this week to perform that maintenance and clean up the trash, she says. The drainage problem is harder to address, she adds. The water comes from a spring behind a retaining wall on the hillside, something that would require re-engineering to solve, Falvey says, adding that an engineer will look at the problem this week as well. In the meantime, she says, the department will consider increasing the frequency of the landscape maintenance.